Neverland by Shari Arnold

Neverland by Shari Arnold is a young adult story that has a twist to it. In this three-part book, we first come to know a girl named Olivia a.k.a. Livy who is reading a story to a group of children at a local Children’s Hospital in modern day Seattle, WA. We learn that she has been struggling with death in her family: her little sister Jenna. After Jenna died in that very hospital from cancer, Livy has never left. She constantly visits the children who all knew Jenna during her last stage. But, there is a mysterious boy who always hangs around and then disappears…

Neverland by Shari Arnold

Livy wants to contribute more than just reading to the children. Soon she gets a little too attached to one of Jenna’s fellow cancer patient/friend, and has a crazy idea that may just save the girl’s life. But, the mysterious boy is back, and he may be sticking around longer than normal. He begins to test her limits when it comes to the thrill of adventure. Questions are being left unanswered. Memories are being held tight. Her best friend has been trying to keep Livy afloat since her sister’s death. Her father has gone into a state of non-existence while her mother is trying a little too hard. But it is this boy that grabs her attention and he may just save her from herself.

I give this book 2 out of 5 stars. I was struggling to finish. The story was easy to read, and the characters themselves were interesting, but I feel like the story-line could have gone further. First, there was insta-love. I personally am not a fan of that, so do not be discouraged from reading Neverland if you are someone who does like it. She was in love before she even knew anything about him, and it was just a simple falling in love scenario that is seen in too many books. I feel like she could have made it be insta-love but with a twist that would make the story unique and interesting. I felt like I could guess what was going to happen within the first 60 pages.

What I did think was an interesting aspect that the author used is the retelling that she incorporated. If you are a fan of Peter Pan then this may be a great read for you! I don’t want to spoil anything, so you will just have to take my word for it. You will have to wait until Part 2 of 3 of this book to be able to fully connect the retelling to the plot. I liked how she played with that. But, at the same time, I felt like this was going to be a contemporary throughout Part 1, but when Part 2 hit, it felt like a whole new environment that was fantasy. I didn’t really like that about this book. It jumped around to two different environments, and I felt like Part 2 was a fast-paced read where you just felt anxious. Maybe that was just me. Did you feel that way?

All in all, it wasn’t a terrible book, just I personally struggled with whether or not I wanted to finish it. Again, if this story sounds interesting then you should give it a shot. If I ever give a book a lower rating, it does not mean you should not read it. It just was not a book for me.

****Disclaimer: I received this from the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review. Everything is my opinion only. I was not asked or told to say any of these things!****

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